Rupert
Derived from Old German elements meaning "bright" and "fame".
Name Census estimates that about 2,042 living Americans carry the first name Rupert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rupert today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rupert births was 1920 (161 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rupert. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 167,852 Americans
Peak year
1920
161 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,863
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Rupert
Out of the 5,583 babies given the name Rupert since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Rupert as a male name
- Ranked #3,863 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1920 (156 births)
Rupert as a female name
- Ranked #4,486 in 1930
- 6 female births in 1930
- Peak: 1930 (6 births)
Popularity
Rupert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rupert from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,195 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rupert by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Rupert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ruperts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. North Carolina, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Rupert, while Missouri, Minnesota, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rupert
The name Rupert has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the elements "hrod" meaning "fame" and "berht" meaning "bright". It emerged during the Middle Ages, with early forms like "Rodbertus" and "Ruadberht". The name was particularly popular among the Franks and Anglo-Saxons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name comes from a 7th-century Frankish nobleman named Rupert of Salzburg, who later became the patron saint of the city. He played a significant role in establishing Christianity in the region and is credited with founding the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter's in Salzburg.
Another notable figure was Rupert, Count of Nassau, who lived from around 1075 to 1124. He was a German nobleman and crusader who participated in the First Crusade and later became the ruler of the Principality of Galilee in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
In England, the name gained prominence with Rupert of the Rhine, also known as Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619-1682), a renowned military commander and nephew of King Charles I. He played a crucial role in the English Civil War, leading the Royalist cavalry forces.
Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) was an English poet and soldier, renowned for his idealistic war sonnets and his association with the Georgian poets. He tragically died during World War I while serving in the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rupert Murdoch (born 1931), the Australian-American media mogul, and businessman who founded News Corp, one of the world's largest media conglomerates. He has had a significant influence on the global media landscape.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rupert
People
Rupert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rupert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rupert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rupert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,042 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rupert going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 167,852 US residents.
Is Rupert a common name?
We classify Rupert as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,583 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rupert most popular?
The single biggest year for Rupert was 1920, when 161 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rupert is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rupert a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Rupert in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.